Decolonizing Humanitarian Action: Identifying Paths Forward for Centering Affected People

Does discrimination play a role in our interpretation of humanitarian principles? What is the difference between equality and equity-based understandings of humanitarian action? And what are some practical ways we can apply an anti-racist lens to humanitarian action with the aim of serving and working with affected people? Join us at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University on Wednesday, November 2 for a timely discussion on these issues with gender and foreign policy expert Saman Rejali.

Saman is experienced in providing gender-responsive and anti-racist policy, programming, and legal advice to senior leaders across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus. She is currently serving as a senior advisor for Canada's Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Ambassador and her office. She previously served as the Senior Gender Advisor for Global Affairs Canada's Peace and Stabilization Operations Program. Saman came to the Government of Canada from the humanitarian sector, where she worked for the International Committee of the Red Cross on humanitarian diplomacy and policy outreach, as well as gender and international law - most recently as a legal and policy advisor.

Saman holds an honors bachelors' degree in political science from the University of Toronto and an interdisciplinary master's in international development, with specializations in gender and international law, from the Graduate Institute in Geneva.

Saman is experienced in providing gender-responsive and anti-racist policy, programming, and legal advice to senior leaders across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus. She is currently serving as a senior advisor for Canada's Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Ambassador. In this role, she is co-drafting a Memorandum to Cabinet on a feminist and anti-racist policy initiative and supporting the drafting of Canada's third National Action Plan on WPS. Saman holds an honors bachelors' degree in political science from the University of Toronto and an interdisciplinary master's in international development, with specializations in gender and international law, from the Graduate Institute in Geneva.